Katharina Buczek
In 2013, Kendrick Johnson was a successful 17-year-old student-athlete attending Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia.
Also referred to as “KJ,” he participated in a number of sports – including football, basketball, and track.
At home, he had a tight-knit relationship with his family, who regarded him as a humble young man.
Yet, in January 2013, Kendrick tragically lost his life after he was found dead inside a gym mat located in his high school’s gym.
It all began on January 10, 2013, when he was last seen walking into the school gym at approximately 1:27 p.m. This specific gym was referred to as the “old gym” and was used as a storage place for oversized wrestling mats since Lowndes High School had two gymnasiums at the time.
Surveillance camera footage captured a different student entering the gym prior to Kendrick. It was later confirmed that this student had just been heading to class.
Then, Kendrick could be seen walking along the gym’s right side – where the oversized wrestling mats resided. At that point, he exited the security camera’s frame.
Right around the same time, the high school’s wrestling team was actually traveling to a tournament in Macon, Georgia. A total of 25 wrestlers had boarded the bus for the trip.
Kendrick never arrived home after entering the gym that day, though, and at 12:30 a.m. on January 11, his mother, Jackie Johnson, contacted the police to report him missing.
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